Migrant workers in Taiwan may soon have a path to permanent residency. Taiwan’s Cabinet on Thursday agreed on a plan to allow certain workers to become permanent residents after 11 years working in Taiwan.
Till now, most migrant workers have been allowed to work for up to 12 or 14 years before being forced to leave Taiwan, depending on their profession.
Under the new proposal, migrant workers would first need to apply for status as “intermediate technical laborers” after six years working in Taiwan.
They would also need to meet certain salary requirements. For migrants working in industry, the minimum salary is NT$33,000 (US$1,200) a month. As for workers in care homes, the minimum is NT$29,000 (US$1,000) a month. The minimum for private care workers is NT$24,000 (US$860) a month.
Then, after six years working as “intermediate technical laborers”, migrant workers would be able to apply for permanent residency. To get permanent residency, workers would need to earn NT$55,000 (US$2,000) a month or be qualified as Class B certified technicians.
Cabinet spokesperson Lo Ping-cheng says Taiwan’s current policy of training migrant workers and then evicting them after 12 or 14 years is “very wasteful”. He says the policy is tantamount to handing over skilled laborers to other countries.
The proposals would also open up a path to long-term residency for some students of Taiwanese origin who don’t have Taiwanese citizenship.
Taiwan’s Cabinet hopes the new rules can go into force by the end of April.